Aside from her attendance in the 40th Anniversary of the Great Al Fateh Revolution on September 1 in Libya, President Arroyo is also slated to attend the two-day African Union (AU) Summit in the said country to strengthen the Philippines’ bilateral relations with African nations.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the two-day AU Summit to be held in Tripoli, Libya starting August 31 will zero in on the settlement of conflicts in Africa. Libya currently chairs the African Union.

“The AU Special Summit will provide the President an opportunity to invite African states, which are also members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), to attend the first Special NAM Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development which the Philippines will host on December 1 to 3, 2009,” the DFA said.

The NAM ministerial to be held in the country this December is expected to be a gathering of 118 member states for interfaith cooperation, and will focus on peace and development.

NAM member states represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and comprise 55 percent of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world. It was founded in April 1955.

“During her visit to Libya, President Arroyo also intends to meet with Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Guinea in connection with the Philippines’ bid in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),” the DFA added.

President Arroyo will be flying to Libya upon the invitation of Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qaddafi.

“Libya played a significant role in bringing peace and development in southern Philippines, and was instrumental to the conclusion of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),” the DFA said.

“The visit will also provide the opportunity for the President to reiterate her request for Libya’s continuous support for the Philippine peace process as well as for the Philippines’ bid for OIC observer status, as discussed during Her Excellency’s bilateral meeting with the Libyan Leader on July 16, 2009, at the sides of the 15th NAM Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,” it added.

The bilateral relations of the Philippines and Libya started in 1976.

There are an estimated 10,000 Filipinos living in Libya.

The President is also scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom for a state visit as well as to New York in the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) also this September.